Wild Samoans
The Wild Samoans was the tag team of Afa and Sika in Mid-South Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The Samoans held 21 tag team championships around the world. Gimmick In interviews the duo rarely spoke, only grunting in a primitive dialect that only manager Capt. Lou Albano could understand. Completing their wild man image, the duo engaged in outrageous behavior such as nose picking and eating raw fish during interviews. History The team began its career in Stampede Wrestling, where they won the Stampede International Tag Team Championship on two occasions. They spent the majority of the 1970s in various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories. World Wrestling Federation In the early 1980s, the Wild Samoans joined the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). They made their Madison Square Garden debut on January 21 1980 in a WWF Tag Team Championship match against Tito Santana and Ivan Putski, who retained their title. In the upcoming months, both men became contenders for Bob Backlund's WWF Championship, but neither man won the gold. They, however, won their first championship in the WWF, the tag team championship, by defeating Santana and Putski on April 12, 1980. They reigned as champions for approximately five months, until dropping the title to Backlund and Pedro Morales in a two out of three falls match at Showdown at Shea. Because Backlund was already the reigning WWF Champion, the team had to forfeit the title, and a tournament was held to crown new tag champions. On September 8, 1980, the Wild Samoans defeated Tony Garea and Rene Goulet in the tournament finals to win the title. Their reign lasted for one month, until they lost to Garea and his new partner, Rick Martel. The Wild Samoans feuded with the champions for the rest of the year, but they were not able to recapture the gold. Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic In late 1981, the Wild Samoans joined Mid-South Wrestling. With, "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd as their financial adviser, they won the Mid-South Tag Team Championship and feuded with Junkyard Dog and Dick Murdoch. After also attacking Ladd, the two began a feud with their former adviser. In response, Ladd formed a team with "Iron" Mike Sharpe, with whom he forced the Wild Samoans to leave Mid-South. After leaving Mid-South, the duo appeared in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. As part of the territory, they defeated the Fabulous Freebirds for the NWA National Tag Team Championship, which they later vacated. Return to the World Wrestling Federation The Wild Samoans eventually ended up back in the World Wrestling Federation with their former manager Capt. Lou Albano. Afa and Sika began their third WWF Tag Team Championship reign on March 8, 1983 by defeating Chief Jay and Jules Strongbow. In a rematch on March 19, they were also victorious. Also during this time, while feuding with Rocky Johnson, Jimmy Snuka, and André the Giant, the duo added Afa's son Samula to their team, first as a replacement for Sika when he got hurt, then as their backup upon his return. They lost their tag team title to the team of Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas on November 15. During the match, Albano tried to interfere on the Samoans behalf by attempting to hit Johnson over the head with a chair. He accidentally hit Sika instead, however, and Atlas covered him for the win. The duo eventually left the WWF in 1984. Post-tag team careers Both men went on to have successful careers, both as singles wrestlers and managers. During the 1990s, Afa Anoa'i opened the Wild Samoans Training Center, and the school's graduates include Paul Orndorff, Junkyard Dog, Sherri Martel, Michael P.S. Hayes, Yokozuna, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Batista. They also promote live wrestling shows under the WXW banner. In 2007, on the eve of WrestleMania 23, the Wild Samoans were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. They were inducted by their sons Samula and Matt Anoa'i. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **Samoan Drop *'Signature moves' **Double headbutt *'Managers' **Capt. Lou Albano **"Big Cat" Ernie Ladd **Eddie Creatchman Championships and accomplishments *'Continental Wrestling Association' :*AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) *'Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling' :*NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship (2 time) *'Georgia Championship Wrestling' :*NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) *'International Wrestling Alliance' :*IWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) *'Mid-South Wrestling' :*Mid-South Tag Team Championship (3 times) *'NWA All-Star Wrestling' :*[[NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)|NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)]] (1 time) *'NWA Detroit' :*NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) (2 times) *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' :*PWI ranked them # 93 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003. *'Southeastern Championship Wrestling' :*[[NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship#NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Southern Division)|NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Southern Division)]] (2 times) *'Stampede Wrestling' :*Stampede International Tag Team Championship (2 times) *'World Wrestling Entertainment / World Wrestling Federation' :*WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2007) :*WWF World Tag Team Championship (3 times) External links * Profile * WWE.com Profile *The Wild Samoan Training Facility Category:Independent promotions teams and stables Category:World Wrestling Entertainment teams and stables Category:Jim Crockett Promotions teams and stables Category:American Wrestling Association teams and stables Category:World Wrestling Council teams and stables Category:WWE World Tag Team Champions Category:WWE Hall of Fame inductees Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:Anoa'i family